Workin' Man

I've been working at the library for 10 years. This week I was honored in a rather over-the-top ceremony, pictures of which I am sure will surface on the web at some point.

Ten years. That beats my old work record by seven years. I started thinking about all the other jobs I had before my buddy Ira put me on the righteous path of librarianship. Let's see, excluding mowing yards and babysitting, I've been a ...

Stock Boy
Delivery Driver
Bag Boy
Courier
Dishwasher
Prep Cook
Yard Maintenance Worker
Photo Technician (sounds a lot cooler than it really was)
Offset Copier Operator
Record Store Clerk
And probably a lot more that I can't remember

I actually had some semi-professional stuff in there. I was a staff writer for the University of Florida for 3 years, and edited/wrote for at least two failed magazines that I can recall.

One of the awesome parts about most of those jobs was how you could find a substitute to work your shift.

"Hey, where's Mike?"
"He took the day off - his friend Ed's washing dishes for him tonight."

You know you're pretty far down on the totem pole when you can just give another dude your job for a day and nobody even notices.

Another awesome thing was waking up in the morning knowing that was the day I was quitting. There's just something so liberating about taking that first step outside your now ex-job that's so satisfying that even the realization that you don't have any money can't quell.

I never had any real dramatic quitting scenes, but remembering telling some mustached assistant manager no while taking off my apron still makes me happy.